Petes blank Bulls

Petes and Bulls Jan. 3.jpg

Petes and Bulls_1 Jan. 3.jpg

(PETERBOROUGH) Jody Hull’s message to his players before the Christmas break was go home and re-focus and re-energize, and return with a different mind set.
The Petes interim head coach’s message seems to have been heard loud and clear as the maroon-and-white improved to 2-0 in the new year with a 3-0 win against the Belleville Bulls in front of 2,651 fans at the Memorial Centre on Thursday night (Jan. 4).
“I see a difference in the players, from their mentality in the dressing room and the preparation before games and in practice,” explains Hull, whose record improves is 3-1 since taking over bench boss duties from Mike Pelino.
“They seem to have a renewed energy and passion for the game,” he adds.
Petes goalie Andrew D’Agostini has been between the pipes for all three wins since the coaching change and was a difference maker Thursday night, stopping 42 shots for his second OHL shutout.
“It might be the best game of my career,” he said.
“I am proud of myself. The hard work is paying off but I have to give credit to my teammates for killing some penalties.”
D’Agostini and the Petes were perfect on the penalty kill, forcing the Bulls to go 0-8 with the man advantage. The biggest kill came in the second period when the Bulls had a lengthy two-man advantage.
“Penalty killing was a huge part of this game,” explains Petes blueliner Connor Boland.
“They brought some good momentum but we kept strong on the defensive end and Dagger (D’Agostini) stood on his head a couple of times and really helped us out.”
It was a big night for Boland as he scored his first OHL goal while playing a crucial role defensively against the Bulls’ top snipers.
“It was an exciting one tonight and I am glad we came out with the win,” Boland explains.
Also scoring for the Petes were Steven Trojanovic, with a power-play marker in the first period, and Alan Quine with an even strength goal in the middle frame.
The Petes are back in action Friday night (Jan. 4) when they travel to Kitchener to face the Rangers.